Summary Continuous rotation of rice with wheat in rice–wheat system has resulted in stagnant yields and reduced profit margins while deteriorating the soil health. Legume incorporation in existing rice–wheat rotations might be a viable option to improve soil health and productivity. We investigated the influence of puddled transplanted flooded rice and direct-seeded rice on weed dynamics, soil health, productivity, and profitability of post-rice wheat and chickpea grown under zero tillage and conventional tillage. The previous direct-seeded rice crop was either sown alone or intercropped with sesbania as brown manure. The experiment comprised different rice–wheat and rice–chickpea systems which had been in place for two years: with and without rice residue retention. The initial soil analysis indicated that the plots with sesbania brown manuring in direct-seeded rice had the lowest soil bulk density (17.2%) and highest soil porosity (19.3%). Zero tillage in wheat or chickpea in the plots previously cultivated with co-culture of sesbania and direct-seeded rice increased total soil organic carbon by 13–22% in both years. The plots with sesbania brown manuring in direct-seeded rice followed by zero till or conventional till wheat and the plots with direct-seeded rice followed by zero till wheat with rice residue retention recorded the greater concentrations of total nitrogen, available phosphorus, and exchangeable potassium. Zero tillage in wheat and chickpea in post-rice sesbania brown manuring plots produced 41% and 43% more grain yield than those in the puddled transplanted flooded rice with conventional tillage and had the highest profitability. Overall, the rice–chickpea systems had better soil health and profitability than rice–wheat cropping systems. In conclusion, direct-seeded rice intercropped with sesbania followed by wheat and chickpea under zero tillage suppressed weed flora and improved soil physical properties, nutrient availability, productivity, and profitability.

中文翻译：

---

田菁褐肥可改善水稻后面包小麦和鹰嘴豆的土壤健康、生产力和盈利能力

小结 稻麦系统中的稻麦轮作导致产量停滞，利润率下降，同时土壤健康状况恶化。在现有的稻麦轮作中加入豆科植物可能是改善土壤健康和生产力的可行选择。我们调查了水坑移栽水稻和直播水稻对零耕和常规耕作条件下种植的稻后小麦和鹰嘴豆的杂草动态、土壤健康、生产力和盈利能力的影响。以前的直播水稻要么单独播种，要么与田菁间作棕肥。该实验包括不同的水稻-小麦和水稻-鹰嘴豆系统，这些系统已经使用了两年：有和没有稻渣保留。初步土壤分析表明，播种田菁褐肥的地块土壤容重最低（17.2%），土壤孔隙度最高（19.3%）。在先前与田菁和直播水稻共耕的地块中，小麦或鹰嘴豆的零耕作在这两年都使土壤有机碳总量增加了 13-22%。田菁棕肥直播稻后零耕或常规耕小麦的地块和直播稻后零耕小麦的地块记录了更高的总氮、有效磷和交换钾浓度. 在稻田田菁褐肥地块的小麦和鹰嘴豆零耕作比采用常规耕作的水坑移栽淹水稻的粮食产量高出 41% 和 43%，并且具有最高的盈利能力。总体而言，水稻-鹰嘴豆系统比水稻-小麦种植系统具有更好的土壤健康和盈利能力。总之，在零耕作条件下，直播水稻与田菁间作，其次是小麦和鹰嘴豆，抑制了杂草菌群，并改善了土壤物理特性、养分有效性、生产力和盈利能力。